I apologize that it has taken me so long to give you this chapter. I really struggled with this chapter and am still not 100% satisfied with it, so I apologize in advance if this sucks.

TW: Glad to hear it.

JONATHAN GRAHAM: We'll see.

patriciapatcruz1: Glad to hear it.

Avengers Compound

Morning

Outside the Compound, Steve and Natasha stared up as Wakandian jet descended from the sky, landing several feet away. After a few moments, the ramp lowered and T'Challa exited his vehicle.

"You're Highness. Welcome to The Compound," Steve said as T'Challa reached them, the two shaking hands.

"Thank you, Captain. It will be my honor to fight alongside you when the time comes," T'Challa said humbly.

"The honor is ours," Natasha said and T'Challa smiled slightly.

"So it is. I assume there is a strategy in place for when we battle Thanos?" T'Challa inquired.

"I'll fill you in inside," Steve promised as the trio headed inside the Compound.

Asgard

Same time

"So, you intend to marry Sif," Loki noted as the two brothers walked the halls. "I always thought you would. You'd have to be a blind man not to see how she felt about you."

"It is not about love, brother. It's the decision that makes the most sense for Asgard. She would be a worthy ruler in my stead," Thor pointed out and Loki nodded after a moment.

"I suppose she would. But I know you, brother. You are not just here to inform me of your upcoming nuptials," Loki noted as the brothers stopped.

"Aye, there is more. I wish for you to be by my side when Sif and I marry," Thor said and Loki stared at his brother in disbelief.

"Brother…I appreciate the gesture, but I don't think Sif would appreciate that," Loki said cautiously.

"Sif knows you are my brother. I want you by side. But it's an offer, not an order. I would like nothing more than to have you stand with me, brother…but I will understand if you do not. It is your choice," Thor told him.

Loki frowned, considering as Thor walked off, leaving him to his thoughts.

Earth, San Francisco

Same time

Scott was sitting in his seat on a plane, getting ready for take-off when someone spoke up near him.

"This seat taken?"

Startled, Scott looked up, stunned to see Hope standing on the edge of the seat.

"Hope? What are you doing here?" Scott asked in surprise.

"Did you really think I was just gonna stand back and let you fight Thanos without me?" Hope asked as she sat down, looking at him like she did when she thought he'd done something stupid. "Don't you get it by now? For better or worse, I'm with you."

"Hope…" Scott trailed of as they stared at each other for a long moment.

"Attention passengers, please put on your seatbelts. We will be taking off momentarily."

Breaking their gaze at the sound of the intercom, Scott and Hope put on their seatbelts. And, as they waited for the plane to take off, they reached out, holding hands as they smiled at each other lovingly.

New York

Not long after

"Sign there…and here…and that should be all."

Whatever Pepper was expecting when she walked into the sitting room of Tony's mansion, it had not been seeing Tony sitting down with a man in a suit, signing a few documents.

"Tony," Pepper called out and he looked up.

"Hey, Pep. We're just finishing up," Tony said by way of explanation, handing the documents to the man as they got to their feet.

"I will get these finalized today, Mr. Stark," the man promised and Tony nodded gratefully.

"Thanks, George. I owe you," Tony said and George nodded his head before exiting the room, stopping to spare a smile at Pepper before making his way out.

"What was that about?" Pepper inquired once George was gone.

"I've been making a few adjustments to my will, George is just gonna finalize it," Tony explained as he put the pen away and Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you had a will."

"Drew it up after Afghanistan, made a few adjustments here and there over the years. But that's not why I asked you here, Pep. You want a drink?" Tony asked and, for some reason, a pit of dread began forming in her stomach.

"Tony, what's going on?" Pepper demanded and Tony was silent, seeming to try and put his thought in order before, finally, speaking.

"Tomorrow…The Avengers and I are leaving Earth to meet up with Thor. It's complicated, but there's this guy, Thanos, he's a warlord, and he's gonna come for Earth. We're gonna try and stop him before he gets here," Tony explained and Pepper's heart sang.

"You never say 'try', Tony. You're not sure you can beat him," Pepper noted and Tony grimaced but didn't deny it. "Tony…"

"I have to do this, Pep. It's not just about me; it's about the entire the world. The universe, really. Thanos needs to be stopped. If I can help out, I'm gonna do it," Tony said passionately and Pepper could see, no matter what she said, Tony wouldn't be talked out.

Sometimes, she longed for the years when Tony didn't care. At least then, she didn't have to worry about him risking his life on a possible suicide mission.

"Why are you telling me this? You could have just left a video message, so why are you telling me this?" Pepper asked softly and Tony smiled tightly.

"I just…I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. I felt like I owed you more than that. I know I've put you through a lot, and the fact you stayed with me as long as you have says more about you than me. I'm sorry, for everything," Tony said remorsefully.

"Tony…" Pepper trailed off, looking on the verge of tears as Tony smiled sadly.

"I've said my piece, Pep. I should start getting ready," Tony said as he moved to walk her to the door.

Only to be surprised when Pepper walked over, grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss like her life depended on it.

Avengers Compound

Not long after

"I see," T'Challa said once Steve and Natasha had explained the plan, the three of them in the conference room. "So we will depart tomorrow morning."

"Yeah. Scott's on his way, Tony will meet us here tomorrow morning. Everyone else is already here, ready to depart. There's still time for you to back out, if that's what you want," Steve offered but T'Challa shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer, Captain. But I made my choice. For better or worse, I am an Avenger, just like all of you. And I will stand with you in this fight," T'Challa said firmly.

"And we'll be honored to have you," Steve told him.

In another room, Bucky was looking in a mirror, examining his cut hair.

"You don't like it, I can always shave it all off," Sam joked and Bucky smirked.

"No thanks, I don't think I can pull off the Lex Luthor look," Bucky said and Sam blinked.

"Surprised you know that reference," Sam noted and Bucky shrugged.

"I saw a few rerun of Smallville while I was on the run. Wasn't bad," Bucky said as he turned around. "Thanks. What, were you a barber once?"

"No, but money was tight when I was a teenager. Mom and Pop started cutting everyone's hair to save cash. They started teaching us too. It's like riding a bike, you never really forget how to do it," Sam said and a beat passed. "You sure about this, Bucky? Once you agree to this, there's no going back."

"There was no going back a long time ago. I've been in a lot of fights over the years, for the Allies, for Hydra. This is the first one since I fell off that train I know is right. I'm in, Sam. No matter what happens," Bucky said firmly and Sam stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"Then do whatever you want to do for the day. Because it might be your last."

Stark Mansion

Later

"So, that was…"
"Yeah."

It was silent as Tony and Pepper laid in bed, dressed only in sheets as they tried to figure out what to say next.

"I…wasn't expecting this," Pepper finally said, blushing as she thought of what they had just done.

"You realize you kissed me, right Pep?" Tony asked with a slight smirk, almost laughing as Pepper's face grew redder.

"I love you, Tony…I'm just not sure that's enough," Pepper said after a long moment and Tony's smirk was replaced by a solemn look.

"I know. I've put you through a lot. I'm sorry about that. I feel like I've done a lot of growing up the last few months. I wish I'd done it sooner, so I could be the man you deserve. Loved you the way you deserve. Maybe we're too damaged to fix, but I just need you to know…I'll always love you," Tony said and Pepper looked at him for a long moment, her eyes welled with tears.

"And I will always love you," Pepper said softly, her voice choked. "Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know," Tony said honestly.

Avengers Compound

Later that afternoon

"Daddy, when are you coming home?"

Clint was in his room, having been video chatting with his kids when Lila asked that question, the question he had been dreading. Only his training as a SHIELD agent prevented him from reacting.

"Not sure yet, sweetie. The next mission is gonna be pretty hard. I'll tell you as soon as I can," Clint promised.

"Okay. Come home soon! And can you bring Auntie Nat and Wanda?" Lila asked excitedly.

"I'll see if they can get away," Clint said with a slight laugh.

"Bye, Daddy! Hurry back!"

"Bye, Dad!"

"See ya later, kids," Clint said, trying to sound as cheerful as he could as the kids ran off and the phone was handed back to Laura.

"How are things looking on that front?" Laura asked and Clint sighed.

"We're heading to Asgard tomorrow. After that…we'll see what happens," Clint said and it was silent for a long moment.

"I love you. Just please…try your best to come back to us," Laura said, tears shinning in her eyes and Clint swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You don't need to worry about that. I will always do everything in my power to come home to you and our kids."

"I know. But it never hurts to hear. I should let you go, you'll probably need a lot of rest. Bye," Laura said, hoping desperately this wouldn't be the last time she talked to her husband.

"Bye," Clint said softly and the call ended, Laura's face vanishing from the scene and leaving him alone, staring down at the screen.

In the kitchen, Wanda was putting something together when Bucky walked in.

"Hey. Are you…cooking?" Bucky asked as he took in the scene.

"Does that surprise you? I love to cook," Wanda said before noticing his hair. "You cut your hair."

"Technically, Sam did. That bad, huh?" Bucky asked dryly.

"Not the word I would use," Wanda said, eying him for a moment before going back to preparing her dish. "If you're looking for Steve, he and Natasha left."

"Really? We're they go?" Bucky asked surprised.

New York Airport

Later

Steve and Natasha watched as the passengers from the latest flight from San Francisco exited the plane. It didn't take them long to find who they were waiting for.

"Hey, Cap," Scott said as he and Hope walked over to the couple.

"Scott, Hope. Good to see you again," Steve greeted warmly.

"We just wish the circumstances were better," Natasha added.

"There's a lot of that going around lately," Hope said with a look over at Scott.

"Circumstances aside, we're glad you're here," Steve said before they began heading out.

Asgard

Night

The great hall was filled with guests from all over Asgard. Heimdall stood near the front of the hall, preparing to act as the one to perform the ceremony. Thor stood next to him, dressed in his Asgardian armor, wearing the helm that he had worn the first time he had been crowned king, so long ago, when he was a very different man.

"Quite a turn out, brother," Loki said from where he stood next to Thor, also dressed in the armor and headpiece he had worn to Thor's first coronation.

"As expected. It is the wedding of the King of Asgard," Heimdall said dryly.

"Even so, thank you brother. And thank you for being here," Thor said as he reached across and placed a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"I would not be anywhere else," Loki said honestly.

For once, there was no agenda, no great threat. At least the moment, it was simply too brothers.

Then, music started and every eye turned as Sif entered the hall.

She was wearing a white dressed, made from the finest silk on Asgard, along with a silver headpiece that framed both sides of her face. A sword was at her side as she walked down the halls.

Sif looked quite beautiful, but to those who knew her, it was quite jarring to see Sif in anything other than armor.

"You look beautiful," Thor said softly as she reached the front of the hall.

"Thank you. You do look…unpleasing," Sif said, seeming to fight a blush as she looked at him before turning to Loki, her eyes hardening as her eyes met his. "Loki."

"Sif," Loki greeted politely.

Loki briefly considered welcoming her into the family, but thought better of it. Why ruin the occasion by reminding Sif they were about to be family?

And then, the ceremony began. Every eye turned to the front of the hall, Heimdall beginning to speak.

"We are gathered here for the wedding of Thor Odinson, King of Asgard, Protector of the Nine Realms, and Lady Sif, one of the greatest generals in Asgard's history. Whatever life has in store for the two of them, may they weather any storms that head their way. May the spirits of our queen Frigga and the All-Father watch over and bless you both," Heimdall said, his words seeming to fill the hall as the all listened. "Now is the time for the vows. First, our king will recite his."

"Lady Sif," Thor started, suddenly finding his mouth dry. "You and I have known each other for many years, both on and off the battlefield. For so long, you have had my back. And now, you will stand at my side. I could not ask for a better wife, nor Asgard a better queen. Wherever your heart is, be it now or a thousand years from now, I will be there with you."

"Lady Sif?" Heimdall said gently when Thor had finished and Sif gulped, a rare show of nerves before speaking.

"Thor…I have loved you for centuries. I never expected to be here, standing before you, about to become your wife. You and I both know that promises are often empty words unless backed up with action, so I will make no promises. Just know that I will do whatever I can to be worthy queen," Sif promised and Thor smiled at her, his eyes telling her all she needed to know.

"Now I, Heimdall, Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, pronounce you not only husband and wife, but King and Queen of Asgard. My King, you may kiss the Queen," Heimdall said, a slightly smile breaking over his normally solemn features.

Thor nodded at Heimdall before leaned down and kissed Sif. Thor barely heard the applause of the guests as his and Sif's lips met in a sweet but brief kiss. As they pulled back and gazed into each other's eyes, Thor knew for certain that he much more to live and would fight even harder to come back to Asgard.

Mostly a filler chapter, with some development on Tony/Pepper and Thor/Sif.

But next chapter we'll get the beginning of the fight against Thanos, so stay tuned.